1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for driving a pump motor for a refrigerator dispenser, and in particular to an improved method and an apparatus for driving a pump motor for a refrigerator dispenser which are capable of feeding-back a water remaining in a discharge hose to a water container of the refrigerator by reversely rotating a pump motor after discharging the water from the water container, for thus preventing the water and the discharge hose from being polluted.
2. Description of the Conventional Art
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional diagram illustrating a dispenser having a conventional pump motor.
As shown therein, when a lever 7 is inwardly pushed by a user by using a cup (not shown) or the like, a lever switch 5 is turned on, and a pump motor 1 is driven, so that water is discharged to the outside through a discharge hose 2 and a discharge outlet 6.
Here, foreign substances contained in the water are filtered by a filter 4.
The watering level of the cup is checked by the user. When the water level exceeds a predetermined level, the cup is removed from the dispenser position, and then the lever switch 5 is turned off, and the pump motor 1 stops, for thus finishing the discharge of the water from the refrigerator.
However, the water pumped by the pump motor 1 remains in the discharge hose 2. If the user does not use the water dispenser for long time, the water in the discharge hose 2 may be polluted.
In addition, the foreign substances filtered by the filter when the water is pumped are attached to the surface of the filter. The thusly attached foreign substances may remain in the filter. As the water pumping is repeatedly performed, the amount of the foreign substances attached to the filter is increased. Therefore, the amount of the pumped water is decreased due to the foreign substances. In addition, when the amount of the foreign substances are further increased, the water may be blocked thereby, for thus causing an operational problem of the system.
Furthermore, during the discharge of the water, the user must check the watering level of the cup. If the lever is mistakenly pressed for longer time, the water may be over-flown beyond the limit of the cup.